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A Month After Deadly Maui Fire, 66 People Still Missing
  + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com   time to read: +3 min
Only 60 of those victims had been identified as of Thursday, according to the Maui Police Department. Tim Laborte's stepfather, Joseph Lara, was killed in the fire, his body found a short drive from Lara's house in his native Lahaina. Hawaii's Department of Health, which issues death certificates in the state, did not respond to questions about how officials are certifying the fire's victims. "The people of Maui must have as much time as they need to heal and recover and will begin to rebuild only when they are ready," Green said. "I want to emphasize this again: The land in the Lahaina is reserved for its people as they return and rebuild."
Persons: Jonathan Allen, Josh Green, Tim Laborte's, Joseph Lara, Laborte, Green, Stephen Coates Organizations: Reuters, Maui Police Department, Officials, Hawaii's Department of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, U.S, Hawaiian, New York
The original suit claimed Hawaiian Electric was to blame for the fire, because it did not deenergize power lines that were knocked down by high winds. Shares of Hawaiian Electric have plunged 67% since the fires erupted August 8. Hawaiian Telecom is privately owned. Maui County filed a separate lawsuit late last month against Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries, alleging that the utility company’s negligence caused the devastating wildfires. Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura said in a statement following Maui’s lawsuit that the company believes the complaint is factually and legally irresponsible.”
Persons: LippSmith, Graham LippSmith, , , inexcusably, Shelee Kimura Organizations: CNN, Hawaiian, Lahaina, Charter Communications, Hawaiian Telecom, Hawaii Telecom, Electric, Hawaiian Electric, National Weather Service, Watch Locations: Maui, Lahaina, Kula, Olinda, Charter, West Maui, Maui County
There are so many since wildfires killed 115 people in the historic town of Lahaina that Olsten is worried about a full-blown economic catastrophe. The day after the fire, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, a quasi-state agency, said visitors on “non-essential travel are being asked to leave Maui” and that "non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged." People shouldn't go to Lahaina or the surrounding West Maui area — “It’s not a place to stare," Bissen said — but the rest of Maui needs tourists. The Hawaii Tourism Authority drafted and publicized a map showing Lahaina and West Maui in relation to the rest of the island, highlighting just how much was still open. It's not clear, however, when travel to West Maui will resume.
Persons: — Richie Olsten, Olsten, Mufi Hannemann, , Graeme Swain, Mara, Swain, Hali'imaile, , Gemma Alvior, they’re, “ Maui’s, Richard Bissen, shouldn't, Bissen, Jason Momoa, , Carl Bonham, It's, Bonham, ___ McAvoy Organizations: Airlines, Maui Helicopters, Air, Pilots, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, University of Hawaii, Hollywood, Hawaii Tourism Authority, , Revenues Locations: KAHULUI, Hawaii, Lahaina, State, Maui, South Maui, San Diego, U.S, West Maui, Hollywood, , Manoa, Kaanapali, Honolulu
Lawsuits are piling up in court over liability for the inferno, and businesses across the island are fretting about the loss of tourism. Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier has repeatedly pleaded for patience as authorities try to verify who is missing, who has been accounted for and who has died. Among the lawsuits is one by Maui County accusing the utility of negligently failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. On Monday the father of a 57-year-old woman who died while trying to escape the fire filed suit against defendants including Maui County, the state and Hawaiian Electric. The state said it was reviewing it, and Hawaiian Electric declined to comment.
Persons: Richard Bissen, Joe Biden, John Pelletier, Josh Green, , ” ___, Sen, Brian Schatz, , Schatz, Green, Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne Johnson, ___, Jason Momoa, Steven Tyler, ” Tyler, ___ Johnson Organizations: Maui County Police, Police, FBI, Gov, Twitter, Hawaii Electric Company, Hawaii Electric, Electric, Representatives, Hawaiian Electric, Lawyers, Hawaii U.S, Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, . Environmental Protection Agency, Officials Locations: HONOLULU, Maui, Maui County, Lahaina, Hawaii, MAUI, Philadelphia, Seattle
Views from the air of the community of Lahaina after wildfires driven by high winds burned across most of the town several days ago, in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Marco Garcia/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc FollowSept 5 (Reuters) - The father of a woman who died during last month's wildfires in Hawaii has sued the state and the county of Maui in a “first-of-its-kind” lawsuit accusing the governments of gross negligence leading to the blazes. Filed on Monday in Hawaii state court, the lawsuit is the first stemming from the wildfires to be lodged against the state. Hawaiian Electric, meanwhile, failed to deenergize its electrical equipment during high winds, sparking the fires, the lawsuit said. Reporting by Clark Mindock, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Marco Garcia, Harold Wells, Wells, Clark Mindock, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Estate, Bishop Estate, Electric, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S
As the blaze began moving into the neighborhood below, some residents began evacuating on their own. Image The Maui Emergency Management Agency sent a wireless evacuation alert for portions of Lahaina at 4:16 p.m. Credit... Lani PohaikealohaRecords show that it was only at 4:16 p.m., after the fire had begun moving through town, that the county sent an emergency cellphone alert. It was sent to a portion of the town’s residential area east of the commercial district. She went back in the house and flipped through television stations but saw no sign of trouble. The county has said it did not activate its audible warning sirens, fearing that people would think a tsunami was coming.
Persons: Lani Pohaikealoha, Matthews Organizations: Maui Emergency Management Agency, Lani Pohaikealoha Records Locations: Maui, Lahaina
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — He's most often associated with Boston, the hometown of his legendary rock band, but Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has a soft spot in his heart for the Hawaiian island of Maui. The singer, who has a home on the island, wants vacationers to return to Maui to help the island's economy — devastated by wildfires last month — recover. Near the end of the opening night of the band's farewell tour in Philadelphia Saturday, Tyler urged audience members not to be afraid to travel to the island again. Josh Green told tourists to stay away during the island's recovery. Tyler's daughter, Mia, was among those initially discouraging tourists from coming to Maui shortly after the fires.
Persons: Steven Tyler, Tyler, ” Tyler, ” “, it’s, , Josh Green, Tyler's, Mia, Wayne Parry Organizations: PHILADELPHIA, , Wells, Gov, Twitter Locations: Boston, Maui, Philadelphia, Lahaina, Hawaii, www.twitter.com
How Better Tech Could Save Lives in a World of Bigger, Faster, More Devastating Fires We can already detect fires from space, soon after they start. Here’s why we don’t yet have a nationwide system for alerting us when they do—but could someday. A firefighting helicopter made a water drop while firefighters worked to combat the fire that devastated Lahaina, Hawaii, last month. patrick t. fallon/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Persons: patrick Organizations: fallon, Agence France Locations: Lahaina, Hawaii
In the Wake of Wildfires, Maui Weddings Persevere
  + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Stephanie Cain | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Tara Lee Murphy photographed a late-morning wedding ceremony at Pacific’o on the Beach, a popular restaurant in downtown Lahaina, on Maui, on August 8. Ms. Murphy, who owns Tara Lee Photography, described the wedding day as the windiest she has ever seen. Ms. Murphy grew up in Maui, playing under Lahaina’s banyan tree as her mother worked at the Lahaina Arts Society nearby. Ms. Russo, a life coach, lived on Front Street in Lahaina. Ms. Murphy had photographed the last wedding there before the fire.
Persons: Tara Lee Murphy, Murphy, Tara Lee, Jessica Russo, Ms, Russo, fiancé Organizations: Lahaina Arts Society Locations: Pacific’o, Lahaina, Maui, Los Angeles, San Diego, Wailea
Among them was Mr. Wegner’s grandmother, Lynn Manibog, who had helped raise him. Mr. Wegner has had almost no time to grieve. “Me and her are under a lot of stress,” Mr. Wegner said. In South Maui, seven of every 10 hotel rooms sit empty, compared with about two in 10 during normal times. The governor and lieutenant governor issued emergency proclamations in the first days after the fire, saying that all nonessential travel to Maui was “strongly discouraged.”
Persons: Wegner, Wegner’s, Lynn Manibog, Sabrina Kaitlyn Cuadro, That’s, Mr, Locations: Lahaina, , State, South Maui, Maui
Climate change turns US utilities grimly exciting
  + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +6 min
A hotter and stormier world is making life unpleasantly exciting for shareholders, as Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE.N) shows. Yet while European firms have buried power lines underground to avoid damage from storm and fires, American utilities have generally balked. The firm said a second fire began in the same area several hours later, after the utility had turned off local power lines. Separately, Hawaiian Electric Industries, the parent company of Hawaiian Electric, said on Aug. 24 it had suspended its dividend. The company said HEI had withdrawn $170 million and Hawaiian Electric had withdrawn $200 million from their existing revolving unsecured credit facilities to strengthen their balance sheets.
Persons: Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Josh Green, Jaime Green ,, Lady of, Kevin Lamarque, HEI, Fitch, Lawrence, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Hawaii, REUTERS, Reuters, Hawaiian Electric Industries, United, Utilities, Hurricanes, Lawrence Berkeley National, Edison International, Consolidated Edison, Dow, Maui, Hawaiian Electric, Electric, Thomson Locations: Lady of Hawaii, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, United States, Americas, Europe, Alaska, California, New York, Arkansas , Louisiana, Texas
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson have donated $10 million to help establish a fund that will give direct cash assistance to Maui residents displaced by catastrophic wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes on the island, they said on Thursday. The new effort, called the People’s Fund of Maui, is offering payments of $1,200 per month to adults whose homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable by the wildfires in Lahaina and Kula this month. The assistance is available to both homeowners and renters, but not to property owners who do not live in homes they own. “People being able to have their own agency, being able to make decisions for themselves about what they need and what their family needs — that’s our goal,” Ms. Winfrey added in a video on Instagram. She promised that the public’s donations to the fund would go directly to victims.
Persons: Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne Johnson, , Mr, Johnson, , ” Ms, Winfrey Organizations: People’s, of Locations: Maui, of Maui, Lahaina, Kula, Hawaii
Lahaina wildfire highlights the need for better warning systems
  + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: 1 min
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLahaina wildfire highlights the need for better warning systemsCNBC's Jane Wells joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss Hawaii's new alert speakers in the wake of the Lahaina wildfire.
Persons: Jane Wells Locations: Lahaina
After Hurricane Michael struck Florida in 2018, home sales rose significantly, allowing disaster investors to reap the rewards. This venture has the potential to be even more rewarding given the increasing frequency of natural disasters in the US. But federal disaster relief is painfully slow to respond and often doesn't cover most of the costs. And while moratoriums on damaged land sales aren't a long-term, legally tenable solution, there are ways state officials might be able to deter disaster investors. As the threat of natural disasters increases, so will disaster profiteers.
Persons: Josh Green, Ian, Hurricane Michael, Hurricane, Joe Raedle, Hurricane Maria, Congress —, Hurricane Sandy, it's, Anthony DiMauro Organizations: Nashville Metro Council, FEMA, Hurricane, Centers for Environmental, Federal Reserve's Survey, Consumer Finances, Emergency Managment Agency, Small Business Administration, Urban Institute, Office, Congress, of Housing, Urban, Bloomberg, Newsweek, L.A Locations: Hawaii, Maui, Hawaii's, Tennessee, Nashville, Florida, Wilsey, New Orleans, California, Puerto Rico, Lahaina, New York
Idalia to boost Florida apartment insurance costs further
  + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +5 min
Costs have risen the most on multifamily properties such as apartments and condos, according to industry executives and data from credit ratings agency Moody's. Property insurance costs to multifamily assets in Florida have gone up anywhere from 30% to 70% in the past year, and are even higher for those with prior losses, non-renewing insurance carriers or valuation issues, she said. Nationally, CRE properties' insurance costs have grown roughly 7.6% annually on average since 2017, according to an August Moody's report. RENTS, CAP RATESRising insurance premiums on multifamily properties have contributed, among other factors, to rent increases in Florida and elsewhere, said three industry executives. Insurance costs are also forcing CRE lenders to boost due diligence on refinancing and when pricing deals on apartment blocks, executives said.
Persons: Daniel Hokanson, Ian, Kevin, Idalia, Walker, Dunlop, you’re, Willy Walker, multifamily, Ryan Barber, Marsh, Martha Bane, Gallagher, Bane, Matt Tracy, Michelle Price, Marguerita Choy Organizations: U.S . Army National Guard, . National Guard Bureau, REUTERS, Florida, Carolinas, Reuters, Walker, UBS, Insurance, Thomson Locations: Fort Myers, Fort Myers , Florida, U.S, Hawaii's, Maui, Lahaina, California, Florida, Miami, Tampa, Orlando
WASHINGTON — The federal government will provide $95 million to shore up Hawaii's electric grid in the wake of deadly wildfires, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday. The news comes as Hawaii's main electric utility, Hawaiian Electric , is facing a dozen lawsuits alleging that the company's practices were partly responsible for the deadly fires, a claim the utility denies. Fitch, Moody's and S&P all recently downgraded Hawaiian Electric's credit rating to junk status, with Fitch warning that the company could face more than $3.8 billion in potential liability for the Maui wildfires. Biden visited Hawaii with first lady Jill Biden last week to view the damage and meet with survivors. Biden spoke to the governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and pledged the federal government's support for recovery efforts, the White House said.
Persons: Lloyd Austin, Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden, WASHINGTON —, Biden, Fitch, Jill Biden, Idalia Organizations: Defense, . Homeland, Hurricane, White, Washington , D.C, WASHINGTON, Moody's, Fitch Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Washington ,, Lahaina, Florida, Georgia, Florida , Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina
Aug 30 (Reuters) - The Biden administration will provide $95 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve Hawaii's electric grid, the White House said on Wednesday. The island of Maui was devastated earlier this month after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through the resort town of Lahaina, leaving 115 people dead and 338 missing. Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Biden, Urvi, Alison Williams Organizations: Law, Thomson Locations: Maui, Lahaina, Bengaluru
Stock Market Today: Dow Futures Hover
  + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.wsj.com   time to read: +1 min
Stock futures wavered ahead of today’s consumer-confidence and job-openings data. Later this week, investors will eye the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation—the personal-consumption expenditures price index—and the August employment report. In other market news:Chinese stock indexes rose again after China’s government on Sunday cut a tax on trading and said it would take more steps to revive its sagging capital markets. Shares of Hawaiian Electric rose 7% in premarket trading, extending gains after it pushed back against claims its power lines caused the deadly Lahaina wildfire. Europe’s benchmark natural-gas index fell 4%, even after workers at two Australian natural-gas operations run by Chevron set a date for stoppages.
Persons: Jerome Powell Organizations: Computer, HP, Chevron Locations: U.S
The flames that ripped through Lahaina needed only a few hours to take nearly everything from Aina Kohler. Her surfing school and cafe. The deadly fire on Aug. 8 destroyed King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina and forced all three of the other public schools in town to close until officials determine that the air and water are safe. As of Monday, nearly 60 percent of the 3,000 public school students in Lahaina, a historic town in West Maui, had not enrolled in another public school or signed up for remote classes, essentially vanishing from the school system. Kimo, whose education was already upended by Covid-19 closures, longs for some sense of normalcy with his classmates.
Persons: Aina Kohler, , Kohler’s, , King Kamehameha, Kimo Varona, hasn’t, Kimo Organizations: King Kamehameha III Elementary Locations: Lahaina, West Maui, Covid
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Persons: Dow Jones Locations: lahaina
CNN —Hawaiian Electric Company said that power lines falling in high winds seem to have caused a fire during the early morning of August 8, but power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours by the time a second afternoon fire began in the Lahaina area. The company made the comments in a new response Sunday to a lawsuit filed by the County of Maui. In a press release, HECO mentioned videos showing that power lines had fallen to the ground in high winds near the intersection of Lahainaluna Road and Hookahua Street at approximately 6:30am. But that morning fire was declared 100% contained by the Maui County Fire Department by 9am, they said. By the time the Maui County Fire Department arrived back on the scene, it was not able to contain that fire, and it spread out of control toward Lahaina, the release says.
Persons: “ inexcusably, HECO, , John Fiske, , Fiske, Shelee Kimura, ” Kimura Organizations: CNN, Hawaiian Electric Company, National Weather Service, Watch, Maui County Fire Department, Hawaiian Electric, Intermediate, ” CNN Locations: West Maui, Lahaina, County, Maui, Maui County
[1/2] A view of burned debris after wildfires devastated the historic town of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S., August 10, 2023. Maui County sued Hawaiian Electric last week, accusing the utility of negligently failing to shut off power and causing the devastating fires that destroyed the coastal town of Lahaina and killed more than 114 people. "We were surprised and disappointed that the County of Maui rushed to court even before completing its own investigation," CEO Shelee Kimura said in a statement. Even with Monday's rally, shares are still down more than 60% since the wildfires started on Aug. 8. "To the extent HECO (Hawaiian Electric Co) has information of a second ignition source, HECO should offer that evidence now.
Persons: Shelee Kimura, HECO, John Fiske, Raymond James, Pavel Molchanov, Arunima Kumar, Mrinalika Roy, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter, Maju Samuel, Shounak Organizations: Hawai'i Department of Land, Natural Resources, REUTERS, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Hawaiian Electric, Electric, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Maui County, West Maui, Bengaluru
Even before the inferno that engulfed the Maui resort of Lahaina is fully contained, local officials and Hawaii’s leading utility are at odds over a fundamental question: Did a single fire break out in the hills overlooking the town on the fateful day, or were there two? The answer may be crucial to establishing the cause of the disaster and the liability for it. The utility, Hawaiian Electric, acknowledged for the first time late Sunday that its power lines, buffeted by uncommonly high winds, fell and ignited a fire early on the morning of Aug. 8. But the company said that by 6:40 a.m. — minutes after the first reports of a fire — the windstorm had caused its lines in the area to shut off automatically. The cause of that fire, the utility said, “has not been determined.”
Persons: , Organizations: Electric, Maui County Department of Fire Locations: Lahaina, Maui County, midafternoon
Search and recovery team members check charred buildings and cars in the aftermath of the Maui Fires in Lahaina, West Maui, Hawaii, August 17, 2023. "We were surprised and disappointed that the County of Maui rushed to court even before completing its own investigation," Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura said in a statement Sunday. The small fire near the downed poles spread into a field near Lahaina Intermediate School. The Maui County Fire Department responded to the morning fire and declared it had been extinguished, according to the company's account of events leading up to the wildfires. Hawaiian Electric said the power had been off for hours when the crew witnessed that second fire in the field.
Persons: Shelee Kimura, Kimura Organizations: Electric, Lahaina Intermediate School, Maui County Fire Department, Hawaiian Locations: Maui, Lahaina , West Maui, Hawaii, Maui County, Lahaina
The suits allege that downed power lines operated by the company contributed to the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The wildfire risk posed by aboveground power lines is well documented. Lives lost, billions in damagesThe Maui fires have killed at least 115 people with hundreds still missing. But Mitchell said insulating aboveground power lines with a protective covering is also an effective solution that is cheaper and can be rolled out more quickly. There is also technology coming to market that can de-energize power lines automatically when there's a problem, he said.
Persons: Mike Blake, Fitch, Berkshire Hathaway's, Paul Starita, They're, Singleton Schreiber, Alexandra von Meier, von Meier, Marshall, Michael Dougherty, Bob Frenzel, Xcel, Berkshire Hathaway, PacifiCorp, aboveground, Scott Aaronson, Aaronson, Joseph Mitchell, Mitchell Organizations: Reuters Electric, Hawaiian Electric, National Weather Service, Hawaii Electric, . Pacific Gas & Electric, PG, Xcel Energy, U.S . Forest Service, University of California, Moody's, Fitch, Electric, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Xcel, Marshall Fire, Marshall, Boulder, Labor, Fire, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, The Edison Electric Institute, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Maui County, Hurricane, California, Berkshire, Berkshire Hathaway's PacifiCorp, Oregon, Colorado, Berkeley, Minnesota, Boulder County, Paradise, Golden
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